The Best Piping Tips

Buying Guide

If you’re hooked on baking shows, you know the secret to some of the most delicious, eye-popping baked goods is in the icing. You can create everything from flowers to stars and hearts with the right tools, but you’ll also have to master your technique.

The first thing you’ll need for piping icing is a pastry bag. Some pastry bag options are disposable, but if you buy a reusable one, you can wash it and get many more uses out of it. If you plan to use multiple icing colors in one baking session, though, you’ll need a bag for each icing color.

You can technically pipe icing using just a pastry bag, but if you want a little more control over your shapes and designs, you’ll need to add some baking tips to your toolkit. These tips attach to the pastry bag and let you create those pretty flowers and leaves you see at bakeries.

When you’re searching for baking tips, though, there are a few things to consider. They’re usually sold in sets, and some come with multiple shape options. If you want to be able to make different shapes with your icing, this can come in handy. This also lets you use different icing colors in one baking session without having to wash anything.

Any piping tip kit will also come with a coupler. This is a two-part device that snaps onto both the pastry bag and the tip to hold everything together. When you’re ready to pipe, you’ll snip a small piece of the end off the pastry bag, then slide the coupler inside the bag, letting it poke out. The tip will then attach to the coupler and you’ll only have to add your icing to the bag.

A spatula can be a huge help when you’re trying to get your icing from the mixing bowl into the bag. Don’t fill the bag all the way to the top. Leave plenty of room for the icing to ooze upward as you’re working. Otherwise, you may make a mess.

• Adding icing to a pastry bag can be tough. You’ll need to hold it with one hand while sliding the icing into the bag with the other. To make things easier, you can use a glass or a container that holds it. Either way, you’ll fold the top over the outside to keep icing from dripping down the exterior of the glass or onto your hand.
• If you’re new to piping icing, look for a kit that has numbered tips with a guide. This will help walk you through which tips you need to use to accomplish your chosen task. You can find plenty of videos online, though, if you need a guide.
• Reusable piping bags can be a little tough to clean. For best results, as soon as you finish using them, turn each one inside out and handwash it to remove leftover icing before it hardens. You can also toss dishwasher-safe piping bags on the top rack for quicker cleanup.
• Not all piping tips are dishwasher safe. Stainless steel should be, but pay close attention to the care instructions to be sure.
• A tip coupler lets you change shapes on the same piping bag. You’ll obviously need to stick with the same color to do that, but there are times when you’re doing multiple shapes in the same icing color.
• A flower nail can help you add some fine detail to your decorating. You might not be ready for that type of detail yet, but having one in your piping kit will be useful when you someday are.
• For applying a little shimmer to your creations, a cake brush can come in handy. You can then add edible powder to the cake.
• Star shapes can be a great beginning design technique. Once you’ve mastered stars, you can then move on to other shapes.